“Switching to eMazzanti has reduced our IT costs by half. I can budget it and not worry about the bill at the end of the month. I count on them as a true partner running the IT department while I focus on running my business.” Alec Yount, Director of Business Operations, FMB, Inc. (FMB Steel)
FMB, Inc. (FMB) fabricates miscellaneous metals, including steel. Established on the principles of excellence, the New Jersey company takes on any project that’s not structural steel, including those that require complex innovative engineering, fabrication, and erection.
With completed projects all over New York and New Jersey, the company proudly claims everything from the unseen roof to stunning architectural features in lobbies. Stadium projects finished include Met Life, the Princeton football stadium, and the Prudential Center.
Previously, one man provided FMB’s IT support. “We had a hodge-podge of technology, with nothing on the cloud,” related Alec Yount, Director of Business Operations. As FMB’s business became more computer-centric, the company needed to find a capable IT partner.
In 2018, the CFO brought in a Boston IT firm. “They promised us great things and did a lot of work,” Yount continued. “They migrated us to Microsoft 365, worked on servers and getting our data backed up on the cloud.”
After several months, cost became a problem. “They never landed the plane or got to where the bills started to go down,” stated Yount. “I wanted to just pay the fixed fee most of the time but our invoices every month were huge. Recurring issues kept popping up, taking up a lot of my time and budget.”
Yount first met eMazzanti’s Jessica Brown when she contacted him in 2018. Brown reached out to Yount again around December of 2019, 14 months after FMB signed with the Boston company.
“I liked Jessica and Carl—an engaging, charismatic figure,” Yount remarked. “When I went to see their office, the business operations seemed to run a lot smoother. I observed a definitive way in how they handled things.”
“They held daily huddles to review recurring issues, figure out the root cause and never have that problem again. That was very appealing to us because we had literally experienced the same problem week after week for months on end.”
Confident in her presentation and ability to solve Yount’s problems, Brown explained that FMB’s network architecture was fine. But seeing no centralized plan and a lot of disorder, she offered a better solution.
Yount selected eMazzanti’s eCare Premium package with consistent billing at the same monthly number he was paying, but with all the support included. “Then, our financial interests were aligned to where eMazzanti didn’t want me to have the same problem month after month,” reported Yount.
eMazzanti agreed to a two-month transition period to learn FMB’s systems and prepare to switch over. “I was available the first month, but in March, New York shut down all our construction except two essential projects,” related Yount.
In a crisis mode, Yount could not assist eMazzanti in the transition during the second month. “I thought they were not going to be ready because I had not been doing anything to help them,” he related. “I was terrified.”
When the switchover came, FMB had just one minor hiccup the first week, which eMazzanti resolved in less than a day. “That was the most impressive thing about eMazzanti,” Yount exclaimed. “It just worked!”
eMazzanti’s engineers then attacked some of the recurring issues. “It’s been nice not to have those problems come back,” stated Yount. “And to get to that point where IT is not taking a lot of my time. Our previous provider did good things, but eMazzanti took a burden off me.”
Everything in IT is now working very well. Yount has moved on with more time to direct FMB operations. “Not spending time on IT is great because it’s not my business,” he explained. “If you’re losing 30 minutes several times a month to IT problems, the opportunity cost adds up.”
In addition to assuming management of the network, eMazzanti configured a new backup solution and addressed other needs that got put on hold during lockdown. “We just bought a 65” collaboration board so we can do video conferences and remote sessions,” added Yount.
“Plus, they understood our background and listened when we ordered a new laptop and proposed a Surface tablet instead,” he continued. “Now I’m excited about making that our standard issue for project managers that go out in the field.”
“It’s nice to have someone that listens and understands what you need and applies their tech knowledge to get you to the right point. And it’s great to have a partner who wants our business to be successful.”
eMazzanti fields a diverse and well-trained team. “They’re all driven to complete what they’re working on,” reported Yount. “The process tends to go very quickly and smoothly. Things are under control, and that’s reflected in the user experience.”
“Top-to-bottom, the people I’ve worked with at eMazzanti seem to be a lot more knowledgeable and very IT savvy. And eMazzanti is 24 hours a day. That’s a hell of an advantage!”
Right off the bat, Yount’s monthly cost for IT is half of what it was. “In these economic times, reducing your bill by 50% and getting substantially better service is a home run, an easy slam dunk,” he bragged. “I can budget and not worry about how big this bill will be at the end of the month.”
Controlling costs and resolving the recurring issues stood out as the most important results for Yount. “They’ve done both of those and everything on top of that is even better,” he reported. “Plus, they are local and can get somebody here if needed.”
Switching to eMazzanti also reduced Yount’s stress in an otherwise stressful three months. “In a recession in the middle of a pandemic, it has taken the stress of IT off the plate and allowed me to focus on what’s important—operating our business in a new paradigm,” he explained.
“I feel like I’ve finally finished the IT project I set out to do two years ago and can move on. With the prior company, I could never say to the owner, I’m done.”
One of the things Yount liked about his previous provider was that it was not an offshore call center. “You got personalized service and knew who the owner was,” he related. “You could pick up the phone and call him. With eMazzanti, you also get that personalized service.”
“They are big enough to effectively service clients very well, but small enough to know who you are. You get the best of both worlds—a local company with 24-hour operations I can count on to run my IT, with all the resources, and industry knowledge that you need in one place.”
“eMazzanti truly feels like a partner,” Yount concluded. “They are accessible, communicative, understand our business and look for things they can do to help us operate it better—technology to help our business in ways that we hadn’t considered at a reasonable cost.”
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